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When it comes to campaign spending, it's not the money - it's the price.

Americans spend a couple of billion dollars each Hallmark holiday on on Valentine's chocolates, Easter candy, and Halloween candy, so spending a couple billion dollars to reach 300 million Americans on Election Day isn't out of context. If each side spent a billion dollars

on promoting full citizenship, voting rights for all, and positive platforms, the money would be well spent promoting democracy. The money was worth the price for President Obama, since he spent most of his money building a positive message around his platform and record of achievement.

The money was not worth the price for Mitt Romney since he spent over 85% of his billion on negative advertising that not only poisoned the airwaves but failed to define his positive attributes until very very late in the cycle.

Overall, billions of dollars spent polluting the airwaves with negativity and suppressing the vote comes at a great price to the American people - the denial of a free and fair debate with positive aspirations for our future. When special interests spent negative money, American democracy pays the price.

Two solutions present themselves: one, drastically reduce candidate rates from corporate super PAC rates to incentivize more ads for which candidates must be personally accountable; and, two, create public financing of campaigns so that grassroots candidates will have the means to compete with corporate campaigns. That way, the money spent on campaigns will be worth the price.

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